Here's how to get people buying your products, instead of having second thoughts, or buying the same item from somewhere else.
1. Manage your customer service online like a shopfloor: keep it neat, welcoming and customer-friendly
62% of B2B and 42% of B2C customers will return to purchase again after a good customer service experience. Broken links, inadequate information, bad photography and a shoddy checkout process can drive away potential sales.
2. Revive abandoned shopping carts: be personal, be persuasive
Powerful, customer-focused product copy at the right point could recover up to 35% of abandoned shopping carts. Simplifying the process at checkout can also be crucial to your profits, and save you well over a third of shopping cart abandonments.
3. Respond to your customers’ shopping habits: get responsive across all devices
Over 40% of all global e-commerce transactions now take place via smartphone, so make sure your service suits the way your customers want to shop. A responsive website attracts buyers on smartphones and tablets as well as PCs.
4. Add value to customer relationships: build loyalty to build future sales
Introduce special discounts if a customer provides an email address, an offer for free P&P on the next order, and an easy returns process. Adding practical, fun or thoughtful additions to online orders can go a long way to retaining and increasing customer value.
5. Reap the rewards of social connections: profit from the power of ‘Like’ and Share’
Companies that have embraced social media generate roughly US$2.4m every minute through e-commerce. With an estimated 2.5 billion people on social media in 2018, a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram is a great way to harvest the benefits of that huge audience.
6. Be human online: connect meaningfully (and profitably) with customers
Adding live chat tools to your website can deliver 92% satisfaction with customer service. Engaging with online customers in real-time creates a level of personal trust that can enrich the online buying experience, giving the customer a sense of reassurance.
7. Show that you’re trusted: benefit from your online reputation
With 88% of people stating that an online customer service review had influenced their decision to buy, a good e-commerce reputation can really power up your profit. Third-party software such as Trustpilot can deliver free word-of-mouth marketing and help boost your business returns.
